Chapter 2 Quiz and Terms

In New York Times v. United States, the Supreme Court said that ___________________________.

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TMP Laws

A First Amendment concept that laws regulating the conditions of speech are more acceptable than those regulating content: also, the laws that regulate these conditions.

Compelling Interest

A government interest of the highest order, an interest the government is required to protect.

Categorical Balancing

A judge's or court's practice of deciding cases by weighting different broad categories, such as political speech, against other categories or interests, such as privacy, to create rules that may be applied in later cases with similar facts.

Intermediate Scrutiny

A standard applied by the courts to review laws that implicate core constitutional values: also called heightened review.

Rational Review

A standard of judicial review that assumes the constitutionality of reasonable legislative or administrative enactments and applies minimum scrutiny to their review.

O'Brien Test

A three-part test used to determine whether a content-neutral law is constitutional.

Prior Restraint

Action taken by the government to prohibit publication of a specific document or text before it is distributed to the public; a policy that requires government approval before publication.

Symbolic Expression

Action that warrants some First Amendment protection because its primary purpose is to express ideas.

Important Government Interest

As interest of the government that is substantial or significant (more than merely convenient or reasonable) but not compelling.

Seditious Libel

Communication meant to incite people to change the government; criticism of the government.

Public Forums

Government property held for use by the public, usually for purposes of exercising rights of speech and assembly.

Designated Public Forums

Government spaces or buildings that are available for public use (within limits).

Nonpublic Forums

Government-held property that is not available for public speech and assembly purposes.

Traditional Public Forums

Lands designed for public use and historically used for public gathering, discussion and association (ex. public streets, sidewalks, and parks). Free speech is protected in these areas.

Content-Based Laws

Laws enacted because of the message, the subject matter or the ideas expressed in the regulated speech.

Content-Neutral Laws

Laws enacted to advance a government purpose unrelated to the content of speech.

Ad Hoc Balancing

Making decisions according to the specific facts of the case under review rather than more general principles.

Original Intent

The perceived intent of the framers of the First Amendment that guides some contemporary First Amendment application and interpretation.

Strict Scrutiny

The test for determining the constitutionality of laws aimed at speech content, under which the government must show it is using the least restrictive means available to directly advance a compelling interest.

In reviewing the constitutionality of laws, the Supreme Court has established that an important government interest is _______________________.

a significant but not compelling interest

Laws of general application ______________________.

apply to the media in the same way as other businesses

The Supreme Court has said that, under the First Amendment, political speech is ___________.

at the core of the protected freedom of speech

The Supreme Court generally interprets freedom of speech and freedom of the press by __________________.

combining the two terms into freedom of expression

To determine the constitutionality of government actions, the Supreme Court employs ____________________.

different tests to respond to the different impacts of government actions on constitutionally protected rights and freedoms

Under strict scrutiny, a law is constitutional only if it __________________.

is narrowly tailored to serve a compelling governmental interest

Instrumentalists argue that the First Amendment advances all of the following goals except ______________.

obscenity

If the First Amendment stands as a nearly complete ban on prior restraints, they nonetheless may be constitutional to prevent _______________________.

obscenity, incitements of violence, interference with ongoing military operations in times of war, and incitements to overthrow the government

To guide its application of the First Amendment, the Supreme Court relies on ______________________.

original intent, textual interpretation, ad hoc balancing, and categorical balancing

Courts find content-based restrictions of speech constitutional if they _____________________.

pass strict scrutiny

In Near v. Minnesota, the Supreme Court ruled that _______________________.

prior restraints pose a serious threat of censorship as well as that laws that punish past actions by banning future publications are a form of prior restraint

Traditional public forums include _______________________________________.

public property designed and historically used for public gathering and association

When the Supreme Court reviews the constitutionality of laws, it applies _______________________.

rational review, intermediate review, or strict scrutiny

The First Amendment prohibits abridgments of the freedom of speech and the press by _____________________.

the federal government only